The British 400m runner said that he had to leave the sport after receiving medical advice from doctors.
Ben Higgins, who became the British 400m champion three years ago, has been forced to retire from athletics due to a “heart problem”.
24 years old reported on his Instagram that he had to retire from the sport after seeking medical advice from doctors.
“After much thought and personal reflection, I am sharing the difficult decision to retire from athletics, a sport I have poured my heart into for the past 17 years,” Higgins said due to heart problems.
“This journey has been everything to me. The pride of representing my country in both the World and European Championships will never leave me. The sport has given me the highest and the lowest. Each race has shaped me in a way that I can never fully express myself.
“As this chapter closes, I take with me the lessons, the friendships, and the incredible memories. Athletics has taught me resilience, discipline, and the strength to overcome pain, physically, mentally, and emotionally, even though it’s what ultimately broke me.
“Thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way – my coaches, sponsors, family and training partners. Even though this is not the ending I envisioned, I am incredibly grateful for the journey I’ve been on and all the experiences that have made me who I am. today. Everything I’ve achieved means nothing if I don’t share it with those who have been there all the way.”
Ben Higgins and Lee Thompson (Getty)
Higgins leaves athletics with a rich CV having represented Great Britain at numerous international championships.
At the 2022 World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, he was part of the men’s 4x400m team that finished 6th, teaming up with Alex Haydock-Wilson, Sam Reardon and Guy Learmont in the Serbian capital in 3:08.60.
Then, at the 2023 European Indoor Championships in Istanbul, Higgins, along with Reardon, Joe Brier and Lewis Davey, clocked 3:08.61 in the men’s 4x400m relay to finish fifth in the final.
Domestically, Higgins excelled to become the British indoor 400m champion in 2022, beating James Williams in Birmingham.
A year later, Higgins competed in an equally close finish at the Utilita Arena, but just missed out on the national indoor 400m crown to Lee Thompson.
Her respective personal bests in the 400m indoors and outdoors are 46.55 and 46.15.
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